


Write Me A Beacon So I Know The Way

by heartsdesire456



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Future Fic, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Love Confessions, M/M, Nurse Derek, Pining, Requited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-09
Updated: 2014-01-09
Packaged: 2018-01-08 02:46:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1127438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>When Derek returned to Beacon Hills, he and Stiles had worked together a lot that first few weeks, and because of it, after all the danger had passed, they ended up actually getting along pretty well. It hadn’t been at all awkward to transition from ‘working together’ to ‘hanging out’. Everybody got along better with Derek after all of their bygones had been put behind them. In the year since his return, Stiles and Derek had grown close enough that he wouldn’t hesitate at all to say Derek was his best friend. </i>
</p><p> </p><p>  <i>The only real problem as Stiles saw it was that, the last time Derek returned to Beacon Hills for good, he hadn’t returned alone. </i></p><p> </p><p>*See A/N for detailed description of pairing and warnings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Write Me A Beacon So I Know The Way

**Author's Note:**

> This fic going up on my birthday and as my first fic of 2014 makes me very happy <3 
> 
> This one isn't very long and it's pretty painful, but nothing like the last few I've posted.
> 
> *Extra notes: Endgame Sterek, mostly pre-slash. Derek's girlfriend is abusive, but not physically (with the exception of one very minor incidence of violence)
> 
> Title from the song Nostalgia by Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo (AMAZING song. Not my normal type of music either, so me loving it says a lot about how good it is!)
> 
> (Edit: There's more than one version of the song out there. This is the one I got gifted by a friend and was listening to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv9kP9vtikQ )

Stiles dropped his bag on the floor and then flopped onto his bed with a sigh. “Mmm, yes,” he groaned, crawling up towards the pillow. He dropped onto his face and groaned happily. “Sleeeeeeep.”

And just before Stiles could actually drift off, he heard an all too familiar tapping on his window. Stiles lifted his head and narrowed his eyes when he saw Derek sitting outside the window with the worst puppy eyes ever. “I hate you,” he growled as he rolled off the bed and went to open the window.

Derek crawled in and sat on the sill, leaning forward onto his knees. “Stiles… I know you said not to do it again, but-“

Stiles sighed. “Derek.”

Derek looked up with a sad smile. “Can I stay here?” he asked softly.

Stiles growled. “My dad’s home. You can’t sleep on the couch, Derek.”

Derek groaned. “But I don’t have anywhere to go-“

“Go home!” Stiles urged. “Last time I noticed, your name is on the deed to that house, Derek!”

Derek sighed heavily. “Brooke just needs some time to cool down-“

“Then tell her to take her ass out and go somewhere,” Stiles snapped. “It’s stupid. That is your house, Derek. She has no right to kick you out all the damn time-“

Derek looked up defensively. “It’s not that much-“

“You have your own pillow here, that says it’s often enough,” Stiles interrupted, then sighed. “Fuck it. I’m too tired. Just… just come here,” he said, stumbling back to his bed to face plant. He wiggled the covers down and slid under, leaving a gap on one side.

Derek hesitated only a second before taking off his shoes and jeans and climbing into the bed beside Stiles. He settled looking up at the ceiling then let out a soft breath. “All she needs is time, Stiles.”

Stiles sighed wearily, turning his head to look at Derek. “Yeah, Buddy. I know she does,” he placated, reaching out to slide his hand into Derek’s and squeeze. “Just get some sleep, okay?”

Derek smiled over at him and nodded. “Thanks, Stiles,” he said as he squeezed Stiles’s hand and then let go, turning onto his side, facing Stiles, and closed his eyes. Stiles studied the lines around Derek’s eyes and couldn’t help but think they had no place on the face of a man who was only twenty-five.

~

John watched as Stiles grumbled as he came downstairs and turned at the bottom of the stairs to head to the laundry room. He came back with a pair of purple scrubs with teddy bears on them and marched back upstairs, stomping his feet in a grumpy manner. When he came back down and went to the coffee maker looking half asleep. “So. Derek spent the night?” John asked, sipping his coffee and glancing over the rim of the mug at Stiles.

Stiles made a muffled grumble as he poured his own coffee. “The rat bastard is a sleep-sprawler. Kept waking up to knees and elbows in bad places.”

John raised an eyebrow. “So he spent the night in your bed, then, huh?” he asked and Stiles rolled his eyes. 

“Well I wasn’t going to put him on the couch when you were up late working on stuff. I knew he had to work early today.” He huffed. “I’d still be asleep if he hadn’t woke me up on the way to the shower.” He poked at the bread on the counter absently as if contemplating making breakfast. “Jerk made me get up and get him clothes.”

John hummed. “And why do we have some of Derek’s scrubs?”

Stiles shrugged. “He stays over and leaves them and I have to do his damn laundry for him?”

“Stiles!” Derek called from upstairs. “Do I have any underwear here or should I steal yours?”

Stiles flat out growled. “HALE! IF YOU PUT ON MY BOXERS I WILL LACE YOUR COFFEE WITH WOLFSBANE!” he shouted out the kitchen door then went and started pouring coffee into a travel mug. 

John watched Stiles fixing Derek’s coffee and then he put down his paper and clasped his hands on the table as he watched Stiles put toast in the toaster and then dig out a small jar of apple butter John didn’t even know they owned. Stiles took the toast and put apple butter on both slices before making them into a sandwich that he then cut diagonally and set on the corner of the counter on a piece of paper towel and moved the travel mug beside it. 

Stiles was just digging something out of the cabinet above the sink when Derek came in, shrugging on his jacket. “Hey Stiles, do you still have-“

“Spare stethoscope?” Stiles said, pulling a blue stethoscope out of a black box that was in the cabinet. “Here you go,” he said, handing it over.

Derek took it and put it around his neck, then grabbed the toast sandwich and coffee. “Thanks, gotta run, but I’ll see you later, right?”

Stiles nodded tiredly. “I’ll bring your lunch around one.”

“Thank you, you’re the best friend ever, and I’m still really sorry,” Derek said with an apologetic smile. 

Stiles just flapped a hand. “Whatever, just grovel later,” he said, and Derek waved to John, half of his triangular cut toast sandwich in his mouth already as he juggled his keys and coffee on his way out the door.

John took a breath, almost afraid to ask. “Stiles. When did you become Derek’s housewife?” he asked and Stiles choked on his coffee.

“What?!”

“Stiles, you know how the man likes his toast cut. You know how he likes his coffee. We have apple butter and a _spare stethoscope_ in our kitchen. You _do his laundry_ ,” John stressed. 

Stiles huffed. “I do your laundry!”

“I pay you to do all the stuff I’d have to either do myself or hire a maid to, Derek doesn’t,” John pointed out. “You just said you would bring his lunch at one. How often DO you bring his lunch?” he asked and Stiles shrugged.

“A couple days a week. Sometimes maybe three-“

“He works four days a week, Stiles!” John pointed out. “What next, are you going to start pestering him about his health?”

Stiles floundered and cleared his throat. “I… sorta stopped bringing him burgers a few months ago because he started having headaches from all the stress finally getting to him and eating healthy helps fight symptoms of stress,” he admitted.

John just rolled his eyes. “Stiles.” Stiles gave him a challenging look and John just waved a hand. “Whatever, Kid. I’m too old for this crap,” he said dismissively, picking up his paper to put it all out of his mind.

~

Stiles loved catching glimpses of Derek in his zone at work. When he showed up a little early for Derek’s lunch break, he decided to hang around at the nurses’ station talking to Scott’s mom. She had just told him about one of her coworker’s being out after having a baby when he heard Derek’s voice and turned to glance down the hall, only to freeze at the sight, almost as if he was afraid he’d make a sound and alert Derek to his presence and ruin the moment he was witnessing. Melissa let out a soft ‘awww’ and Stiles knew she was watching too.

Down the hall, Derek had stopped to talk to some parents and had somehow ended up with a little girl sitting on his hip talking animatedly to him while her parents watched on. Stiles could tell from the shortness of her hair that likely she had recently finished treatment for cancer, and his heart leapt slightly at the sight of Derek’s wide, happy smile as he looked at her and listened intently while her parents watched with such blinding happiness in their faces that he knew she must’ve been a close case. When Derek finally handed her over – only after getting a big hug from the little girl – to her mother, he waved to them and then turned to continue on his way down the hall. 

Stiles turned back to face Melissa and she rolled her eyes at him and resolutely sat back in her chair and smirked at Derek when he got close enough. “Awwww I thought Claire’s dad was gonna hug you,” she teased and Derek rolled his eyes, spots of pink high on his cheeks. “Was that another member of the ever-growing Nurse Derek Fan Club?”

Derek shrugged with a bashful smile. “Claire’s last checkup to be sure she’s cancer free went well so hopefully we won’t be seeing her again. They were just really happy, is all.”

Stiles nudged his elbow when he came to stand beside him, leaning on the counter. “You seem to be all the girls’ favorite,” he said with a wink and Derek rolled his eyes.

“And yet not even a five year old girl would give you the time of day,” he countered and Stiles faked a gasp.

“So rude to the man who feeds your ass,” he said, and then slid the bag on his other side towards Derek. “Salmon and avocado today.”

Derek sniffled at the bag and hummed interestedly. “Bacon?” he asked and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“Yeah right, do you know what that much sodium does to tension headaches? Nothing good, Buddy,” he said and Derek groaned.

“Stiles, I’m _twenty-five_. And a _werewolf_ ,” he added softly so that only Melissa heard them. “I’m not going to have a heart attack-“

“Oh yeah, and when is the last time you checked your blood pressure?” Stiles interrupted, then smirked. “Face it, dude. I’m barely letting you have more bad food than I let my dad have. Be glad you’re young and healthy so I only worry about your heart and headaches because of stress, not because of being old and overweight.” 

Derek huffed. “You’re a horrible person.”

Stiles smiled and winked. “Yep, it keeps me awake at night. Now, you enjoy your nice, healthy sandwich and I’ve gotta get to class. Call me if you’re not totally trashed after your shift,” he said, slapping Derek on the shoulder affectionately before waving at Mrs. McCall. “I’ll see you later, too,” he said, then turned to walk away. 

~

Most of the pack had gone local for college or gone to work instead. Stiles’s dad had always instilled in Stiles that there was nothing wrong with not going to college because society needed people working as garbage men way more than they needed more bankers or lawyers, and Stiles had supported Isaac and Allison’s decisions to not go to college. Isaac getting a job working with a construction company hadn’t been a surprise, since he’d never had the best grades and didn’t have much of a desire to learn further. Allison had been a bit more of a shock, but when she had decided to get back into competitive archery instead after high school, nobody could fault her. She was damn good at it.

For the rest of them, Scott going to BHC was almost expected since they had a program for him to become a veterinary technician and he still really loved helping animals, Stiles got into the early childhood education program at BHC easily, and Lydia and Danny had both gone off to Berkeley with full scholarships. One year in and Lydia was already running a lab with a professor even though that had never happened before. 

The biggest surprise had been that Derek had come back to Beacon Hills with a degree in nursing. All he had to do, after he returned to Beacon Hills for good, was to take the licensing exam to become an RN and within a few months, he had a job as a pediatric nurse at the same hospital as where Melissa McCall worked since she put in a good word for him. Most of them found it absolutely hilarious that _Derek_ was a nurse, nonetheless one that interacted with children all day, but Stiles hadn’t been too surprised because he knew Derek liked how honest and open children were.

When Derek returned to Beacon Hills, he and Stiles had worked together a lot that first few weeks, and because of it, after all the danger had passed, they ended up actually getting along pretty well. It hadn’t been at all awkward to transition from ‘working together’ to ‘hanging out’. Everybody got along better with Derek after all of their bygones had been put behind them, but with Scott having gotten so much closer to Isaac over time, Stiles and Derek both had sort of ended up together a lot of the time. In the year since graduating high school, Stiles and Derek had grown close enough that he wouldn’t hesitate at all to say Derek was his best friend. He still loved Scott more than most anybody besides his dad, Scott was always going to be his brother, but like with actual brothers, they didn’t have to necessarily be each other’s only ‘best friend’. They could go a day or two without talking without it dampening their connection at all, so it only made sense they both had new people they spent more time with. 

The only real problem as Stiles saw it was that, the last time Derek returned to Beacon Hills for good, he hadn’t returned alone. 

~

When Derek came home with a girlfriend, at first, Stiles had been relieved, really. For all their differences, Stiles really did worry about Derek and when he came home with Brooke and bought a small two-story, three bedroom house with a large enough distance that it wasn’t visible from the nearest houses but not so far it was isolated, he hoped they would have a life together so Derek wasn’t alone anymore. Stiles was grateful that someone had realized that Derek was just a guy who had been hurt, not someone who was broken. When the pack first met Brooke, she had seemed like she would fit in with them all really well. She was from the pack Cora had joined and since returned to, but she was human. She was training to be a future emissary to the pack when Derek and Cora had returned. She and Derek had met and hit it off really well. When Derek decided to come back to Beacon Hills and stay, he asked her to come with him and she had accepted. 

Stiles had hoped that her training to be an emissary would mean they had something more in common than ‘token humans’ in the pack. He had practiced learning to control his own ‘spark’, as Deaton had called it, and though he was far from training to be an emissary in the future, he had learned enough to help them like an emissary would. At first, Brooke had seemed interested in discussing different methods with him, but it didn’t take more than a few months back for Stiles to realize that Brooke wasn’t quite the blessing they had all thought she was to Derek.

When she started being a little rude to Stiles, he hadn’t been too discouraged. He knew that he could be intense sometimes and she was new. He had stopped pestering her, figuring that if he backed off and let her come to him, then they could probably be friends. He would come over and hang out with Derek and sometimes she joined, sometimes she didn’t. Instead of helping, however, Stiles realized it seemed to make her even meaner to him. And ‘mean’ was the right word. Stiles hadn’t really thought he’d call someone ‘mean’ after high school, but there was a difference in ‘rude’ and ‘mean’.

Brooke was mean to Stiles. 

She _glared_ at him just for speaking. She would snap at him whenever she disagreed with anything he said. She would argue against his choices just out of principle whether it be ‘pack movie night’ pick or what pizza to order. He even tried picking movies she liked and ordering pizza she liked, but she would still argue against it. He went out of his way to be nice and she just made more remarks about him that were downright hateful. She talked about him like he wasn’t there, she made ‘jokes’ that were too serious to just be jokes, and more than a few times, she told Derek that she told Stiles about a change of plans and never did so that Stiles was left out of things.

Stiles had a feeling he knew why Brooke hated him, but he didn’t know any way to fix it. He realized that, the more he and Derek hung out together, the less of Derek’s undivided attention she got. Stiles realized that how much time he and Derek spent together was hard for girlfriends – his own first and only girlfriend had only lasted four months before she got tired of competing for Derek’s time – but Stiles didn’t _want_ to spend less time with Derek. It wasn’t _that_ much to begin with. Derek worked twelve hour shifts four days a week, and two of those were night shifts so he slept during the day. Stiles had five classes each semester and all the homework that went with it. Between their busy schedules, they saw each other maybe a total of six hours a week outside of pack business, and for someone like Stiles and Derek, who both only had one person at home, it felt good to just hang out with someone else and decompress. 

So after a while, Stiles gave up trying to be nice to her and earn her acceptance. He knew it was petty, but two could play that game. She made smart remarks, and he made them back. She hated that he could always get the last sarcastic word. Never let it be said that there was anybody without the last name ‘Hale’ that could out-sass a Stilinski. Stiles gave as good as he got and, as long as Brooke didn’t get him started in front of Derek – which neither of them ever did – and nobody saw them, they kept at each other for a long time.

It stopped being funny, however, when Stiles started noticing things. Brooke would tell Derek what he could and couldn’t do and _mean it_. The first time he watched her snap at Derek that ‘she meant to get her a soda _now_ ’, he thought it was a joke… until Derek sighed, got up during one of the most exciting moments of the show he and Stiles were watching, and went to get her a soda. After that, Stiles started noticing more and more things Brooke did to boss Derek around. He would suggest they order Chinese and she would simply tell him ‘no’ and he’d give in, shoulders sagging, and go cook dinner for her instead no matter how long he’d been at work. She would tell Derek to go get her donuts from the bakery twenty minutes before closing and, if he returned without any because they sold out, she would snip about how ‘useless’ he was. 

Worst of all, Stiles had seen Derek get invited out by a coworker to go get drinks after shift – something Stiles knew was good for Derek after years of not being social at all – and Brooke would look at him and say, “You’re not going out tonight.”

And he’d _give in and stay home_. 

Stiles had brought it up with the others before, just to see if the others saw things she did as well, but nobody else had seemed bothered by it. Scott had said she was just a little demanding. Allison had called her high maintenance. Isaac had said he didn’t blame Derek for being whipped because Brooke was _hot_. Even when he mentioned it to his dad, John had just dismissed it by saying that it wasn’t surprising Derek would fall for a woman who wanted him to do things she told him to for her after having both his mother and his older sister as his alpha at one point.

Stiles wasn’t so sure about any of it, though. Brooke was mean to Derek, too. Unlike the other female authority figures in his life, two women who had taken care of Derek and protected him every way they could, Brooke would make Derek do things when all Stiles wanted was to tuck Derek into a blanket and take care of him. The anniversary of Laura’s death was always a rough day for Derek, and while Stiles tried to spend the day playing video games with Derek to distract him since Derek got really into the games and ignored reality for a while, Brooke had woken up around noon and then demanded that Derek not only take her to lunch, but to the very diner that had been Laura’s favorite when she and Derek were teenagers. Stiles had seen the way memories slammed into Derek like sledgehammers and his whole face closed off apart from the pain in his eyes at Brooke’s suggestion, and he had never wanted to run someone over more than Brooke at that moment because she _knew_ what day it was, she _knew_ all about Laura’s favorite place, and Stiles was perfectly aware that Brooke made the demand just to try and make Derek ‘suck it up’ the same way she had told him he couldn’t call in sick to work on the anniversary of the fire because, “we can’t have you missing shifts over stupid shit.”

Derek and Brook had been together for more than a year and Stiles still had no idea _why_ Derek couldn’t see how the way she treated him wasn’t okay. Recently, she had taken to answering Derek’s phone if he didn’t have it in his hand and telling whoever was calling that Derek didn’t have time for them. Stiles knew that Derek hadn’t seen anybody in the pack outside of meetings in weeks because Brooke wouldn’t let him go. The only time Derek fought back was when she tried to stop him from going over for Sunday dinner with Stiles and John, which had become a tradition over time, and ultimately, Stiles knew that was what had fueled the last three months’ worth of fighting until Brooke kicked Derek out of his own house.

It was up to almost once a week now that Derek showed up looking apologetic and upset at the Stilinski household. 

~

Stiles loved when they had pack meetings at his house. He and his dad would cook a big meal, enough of everything for even the werewolf appetites, and Stiles would keep an eye on everything so that it finished just in time for all the discussions to be over with. They used to have pack meetings at Derek’s house before Brooke got sick of them ‘getting the house dirty’, which was bullshit even if it did concern her if they did. Derek did all the cleaning so it wasn’t her problem even if they did, and they didn’t. 

When Stiles and his dad cooked a big meal and everybody enjoyed it, Stiles always felt accomplished because he and his dad never got to cook for a lot of people before the pack started having meetings at their house sometimes. He knew he and his dad could’ve extended more of a welcome to their extended family sometimes so that they could visit and they could have a bigger ‘family’ feel sometimes, but as it was, feeding all their friends was about as close as they got. 

After dinner, Stiles always felt a little proud of himself when people left with whatever leftovers he could foist off on them looking grateful. When the last person, Melissa, left with a container of peas, Stiles carefully boxed up the rest of the food to give to Derek to take home. Derek was lounging with legs stretched out along on the couch watching football with his dad and laughing at John’s reaction when his team sucked. He put the boxes aside and went out to join them. “Don’t forget your leftovers later,” Stiles said as he flopped half on top of Derek with an evil grin at the woosh of breath that left Derek when Stiles landed on him. “Huh, I think you’re getting fat,” Stiles announced, poking his elbow into Derek’s gut to make him glare and grunt. “Yep, you’re eating too much of the shit I stopped giving you,” he accused.

“Gee, Mom, I’m a grown ass _werewolf_ ,” he grumbled, shoving Stiles until Stiles was lying beside him, not on him. “I’m pretty sure you don’t get to put me on a diet.”

Stiles wiggled until his back was to Derek’s front mostly, leaning back against the back of the couch and Derek’s chest some, settled between Derek’s legs. “Yeah well, when you’ve got love handles, don’t blame me. I tried at least,” he teased, reaching back to pinch at the ‘fat’ on Derek’s side. Derek laughed and shoved at him, wiggling away from his wrist. “Hmmmm I think somebody’s ticklish-“

“Stiles!” Derek yelped in the high tone his voice only took when he was trying not to laugh. “I’ll bite you, I swear it!” he threatened before catching Stiles’s wrists and pinning them across Stiles in front of him, arms around Stiles to keep him still. He growled against Stiles’s head. “I will bite you and it will hurt.”

Stiles just snickered. “If you were actually ever going to ‘rip my throat out with your teeth’ I would have been dead a long time ago, Buddy.” He leaned his head back against Derek’s shoulder, exposing his throat, and Derek snorted, rolling his eyes.

“You’re a jerk.”

“Yeah, but you picked me as your friend,” Stiles argued with a playful smirk. “Face it. I grew on you.”

Derek grumbled. “Like a gross, annoying fungus.”

John groaned. “No, don’t start talking gross medical stuff. Just don’t. I just ate way too much for that stuff,” he interrupted and they both looked over at him with slightly devious looks. He cringed. “I really hate both of you sometimes. I should’ve given Stiles back when that creepy old bum left him here,” he said as he stood up, earning an eye roll from Stiles.

“Hey dude, you know where I got my attitude from, you don’t even get to complain, Captain Von SassMaster,” he teased and Derek bit his lip with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and saluted mockingly from behind Stiles. 

“Captain,” he said solemnly and Stiles cracked up, leaning his head back against Derek’s shoulder as he laughed.

John just rolled his eyes at the both of them and headed for the stairs. “If I don’t see you in the morning, Derek, have a nice night.”

Derek caught his breath from his laughter and nodded. “You too, John.” As soon as John was gone Stiles and Derek looked at each other and cracked up again, sliding further down the couch as they laughed. When they caught their breath, they didn’t bother moving from the way Derek was resting leaned back on the arm of the couch with Stiles curled up sideways against his chest, their legs tangled together as they watched the rest of the game together. When the game went off, Stiles wordlessly turned the channel to some random hospital drama just because they annoyed Derek but not enough to make him complain.

After a little while, however, Derek didn’t seem to be complaining like usual. Stiles tapped Derek’s knee and leaned against his shoulder to look at his face. “Derek, you okay? You’re being awfully quiet.”

Derek bit his lip and sighed, looking at the screen, not at Stiles. “Just thinking.”

Stiles frowned. “What’s wrong?” he asked, curling a hand around his wrist comfortingly.

Derek fidgeted some, seeming unsure, before he turned his hand over and slid his fingers through Stiles’s so their linked hands rested on his bent knee. “Brooke and I were talking today.” He hesitated. “Brooke doesn’t want kids.”

Stiles cringed internally at the thought of _Brooke_ being someone’s mom. “Well, you haven’t even known each other quite two years yet, Man, that’s not that odd-“

“No, she doesn’t _ever_ want kids,” Derek said softly, eyes showing sadness. 

Stiles sighed and relaxed against Derek, pulling until the hands they had laced together rested on his belly, digging beneath them to find Derek’s other hand, pulling Derek’s arms around him to hold his hands. He didn’t say anything, because there wasn’t really much to say. He knew Derek by now well enough to know that Derek wanted to be a dad. He would be twenty-six before too long and Stiles knew what blow it had to be to know that the girlfriend he had been living with for more than a year didn’t want kids. “I’m sorry, Derek,” he whispered earnestly.

Derek rested his forehead against Stiles’s head. “I just… I _love_ her, Stiles,” he said in a weak tone. “She loves me. I can’t- I don’t want to leave her, I want to spend the rest of my life with her,” he said firmly. “But you know how much I want kids.”

Stiles nodded, turning and tilting his chin up to press his lips to Derek’s temple. “I know,” he said, biting his lip to stop himself from voicing all his other thoughts. 

About how Brooke didn’t love him.

About how Brooke didn’t know what she had.

About how Brooke didn’t _deserve_ Derek in any part of her life.

About how Brooke was so horrible of a human being that nobody deserved that as their mother.

About how much he wished Derek would leave her so she wouldn’t be able to hurt him any more than she already had.

As Stiles closed his eyes and rested his head against Derek’s, stroking his strong wrists comfortingly, Stiles didn’t voice any of the things that he had to fight to stop from saying because he knew speaking the words out loud would hurt Derek and ruin Derek’s trust in him. Until Derek could see for himself what Brooke did to him, he would never be convinced by someone’s words – not even Stiles’s – that Brooke wasn’t what he wanted to believe she was.

~

Stiles and Scott were searching for food in the kitchen when Isaac walked back in carrying one of the grocery bags for Melissa. “Oh hey, Mom,” Scott greeted and Stiles waved.

“Hey, Mrs. McCall,” he greeted absently.

Melissa looked up from putting her keys away and sighed. “Stiles, thank God you’re here. I was going to call you.” Stiles tensed immediately.

“What’s wrong? Shit, is my dad-“ He fumbled for his phone from his pocket, but Melissa shook her head, stopping him.

“No, nothing like that. Has…” She sighed, rubbing at her forehead. “I don’t guess Derek’s called or you would’ve known what I meant.”

Stiles frowned. “No, why?”

She looked up with a sad quirk of her mouth. “You know Charlie?” she asked and Stiles paled, his blood running cold.

“Oh God,” he breathed and she nodded slowly.

“We lost him today,” she said and Stiles put his head in his hands for a moment.

Charlie was Derek’s favorite patient. He was five years old and had been in and out of the hospital since he was two going through rounds of treatment for a heart condition he had been born with. They had done multiple surgeries over the past few years, and every time the prospects seemed so good but something else went wrong. Since he started at the hospital, Derek had always been so sure that they could help him ‘this time’. If he needed something else, Derek would reassure Stiles – and more himself than anything - that the doctors knew what they were doing. In the year that Derek knew Charlie, Derek had spent many a shift using his breaks to read to Charlie or show him how to make paper airplanes. Charlie’s parents were just one set out of dozens who always praised ‘that big, teddy bear of a nurse you guys have’ for always making their kid smile no matter how bad he felt. 

Stiles put a shaky hand on his mouth and nodded. “Thanks for telling me,” he said and she nodded, patting his shoulder as she moved around him to put up some groceries. “Scott, I gotta go, man,” he said softly and Scott nodded.

“Yeah, make sure Derek’s okay for us,” he said and Isaac echoed Scott as Stiles left to go get his bag and leave.

~

When Stiles got to Derek’s house, he let himself in and wasn’t surprised to see Derek sitting on the couch staring straight ahead in the dark. He felt a pang and turned on the lamp as he walked around the couch. “Hey Derek,” he greeted and Derek didn’t respond. Stiles sat down beside him and laid his hand on Derek’s forearm, gripping gently. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered as he leaned over and pressed his lips to Derek’s hair. 

Derek seemed to finally reawaken, but all he did was turn his arm over and grab Stiles’s hand tightly and lay his head over on Stiles’s shoulder. Stiles stroked at Derek’s hair with his free hand, resting his chin on top of Derek’s head. It was far from the first time one of the patients Derek worked with hadn’t made it, but Charlie was by far the only patient that Derek had spent hours just hanging out with on his own breaks. For the most part, the hospital where Derek worked didn’t have the kind of cases in the pediatric ward where kids were there for a long time. Most of the time, they were in for a short while and either transferred to a bigger hospital in another city or got better and went home. Charlie had been transferred to bigger hospitals a few times, but with his case, a cardiothoracic surgeon had agreed to make trips to Beacon Hills to do his surgery on site each time. When he had minor treatments, they were able to do them at the hospital as well. 

Derek always took it hard when one of the kids he worked with died, Stiles didn’t blame him, it was a _child_ dying, but Stiles knew as soon as Melissa had said ‘Charlie’ that this time it would be so much worse. Stiles had texted his dad on the way over that he may not come home tonight, school night be damned, because Derek needed him way more than he needed sleep before class. 

Stiles didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there practically holding Derek when the sound of the front door opening shattered his thoughts. He didn’t let it bother him though. He just shifted his hold on Derek so that it looked a little less intimate when Brooke walked in. he didn’t want to give her the wrong idea. “Derek!” Brooke called as she walked through the house. “Derek, I’m hungry!” Stiles gritted his teeth against the urge to make a remark. “Derek, where are you, I said I’m hungry!” she shouted as she came through the door, only to stop and raise an eyebrow at them. “Ew, why is he here?” she asked and Stiles felt Derek tense against him. She rolled her eyes at Stiles. “Derek, get rid of him and cook dinner,” she said as she turned and headed to the stairs.

Stiles felt Derek relax some when she was gone and it hurt to feel the way Derek got uneasy around the person who was supposed to be sharing a life with him. When she came back down after changing, she narrowed her eyes at Stiles. “Didn’t I say to get rid of him, Derek?” she snapped slightly and Stiles glared at her then jerked his head towards the kitchen.

“I’ll be right back,” Stiles whispered against Derek’s ear and he carefully extricated himself. He walked to the kitchen and Brooke followed him.

“Look, seriously, get out of my house,” she argued blandly when she got in the kitchen.

Stiles flapped a hand at her to quiet her. “Derek had a rough day, so can we please just not argue for his sake?” he asked softly. “Charlie didn’t make it through surgery today, so Derek’s pretty upset.”

Brooke scoffed. “Who the hell is Charlie and why should I care he’s dead?” she asked and Stiles could feel a tick forming in his left eye. 

“Charlie, you know, the little boy Derek talks about all the time?!” Stiles hissed.

She made a face. “Oh, I never pay attention to the crap he talks about.” She shrugged, going to the refrigerator. “Who gives a damn anyhow? It’s a hospital. He’s a nurse. Kids die all the time. So what this kid died? If he didn’t want to deal with dying people he shouldn’t have become a nurse. That’s what you do, deal with people biting it all the time. So what this one was named Charlie?” She asked far too loudly. “Seriously, Derek needs to suck it up. He gets all upset over nothing. He needs to get over this bleeding heart, ‘boohoo another kid died’ bullshit. His job is to help fix them. If you can’t fix them, they die. Shit happens,” she dismissed.

Stiles floundered, mouth opening and closing blankly. He was _seething_ , hands fisted so tight his knuckles were white at his sides, but he couldn’t find words for one of the first times in his life. “I- you- how could…” He shook his head to snap himself out of it. “Oh my God, are you fucking insane?!” he hissed. “How could you ever say any of that?! And loud enough he can hear you! Yeah, he can hear us whisper, but he has to TRY. As distracted as he is, he wouldn’t try, but FINE if you want to shout, LET’S FUCKIN’ SHOUT!” he snapped loudly, even louder than she had been. “You are a HORRIBLE fucking person and I’m SICK of the way you act like I’m the problem here!” he said after so many months of holding it all in. “YOU are every fucking thing wrong with anything anymore! You treat the pack like crap, you treat him like crap, you look at every fucking one of us like we’re beneath you and _guess what_?! YOU ARE THE MOST WORTHLESS PERSON IN THE WHOLE FREAKING TOWN!” 

Brooke turned back and stalked over. “WHY DO YOU CARE?!” she shouted. “You have no reason to give two shits! SO WHAT Derek’s little pet human ran to look after him again? Do you think you matter?! Do you think you have any place in his life or in his pack? Derek is a spineless little beta with no future in the pack. He may as well be an omega. But oh no, you don’t see it that way. You still treat him like he’s worth more than a human-“

“WHAT the FUCK are you even talking about?!” Stiles groaned. “You act like any of that shit matters- NEWS FLASH! I’m nobody’s pet anything, I DO matter because somebody has to do magic for this pack, and what the hell does Derek being a beta that doesn’t challenge authority have to do with him being spineless?! HE’S A NURSE! He has LITERALLY saved lives before! That has nothing to do with what he is but WHO he is. I treat him with respect because he fucking _earned_ my respect! I’ve known him for three years and he earned every ounce of respect I have for him. He deserves way more respect than you give him-“

Brooke spluttered and stepped up, staring almost straight up at Stiles – he was quite tall and she was a tiny little thing – and _shoved_ him. “You just CODDLE him because he’s too damn weak to deal with it like a man! And YOU are always in the way because YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH MY BOYFRIEND! You just wanna steal _my_ attention!” 

Stiles got in her face, not caring that he was looking straight down at her, not caring how loud he was being as he shouted, “Well someone should be, because YOU OBVIOUSLY DON’T FEEL A GODDAMN THING FOR HIM!” 

Stiles stopped, chest heaving from rage, only to have the fire of his anger doused in an icy flush of realization as he recognized how loud they were shouting. Even if Derek wasn’t a werewolf, there was no way in hell he hadn’t heard every single word of their argument. Brooke just looked darkly smug. “I always knew you wanted him. You’re just the right kind of _bitch_ for a whiny ass omega like him. But I have news for you,” she said in a dangerously sweet voice. “Derek is _mine_ , because no matter how pathetic he is, he’s hot as fuck and I’m not stupid enough to kick that out of bed. I’ll never get anything better so I think I’ll keep him. You can get your own, and stay away from _my_ boyfriend,” she growled.

“Fuck you,” Stiles snarled low in his throat. “If I thought for a second he wouldn’t hate me for it, I’d punch you in the fucking throat for the shit you’ve just said about him. Derek is a better man than you ever deserved and one day he’s going to realize that you don’t love him. You’re using him. And when he does, I hope he throws your ass out in the cold.”

She hissed as she spoke. “Get out of my house.”

Stiles scoffed. “Gladly!” He turned and started for the hall then glanced back. “And its Derek’s house, so you better remember that, Bitch.” He left the house feeling positively sick. He wanted to panic. Derek had heard everything she said and Stiles knew for a fact neither he nor Derek were oblivious to what was between them. However, he didn’t deserve to have to hear it out loud. When he stalked out, he went straight to his jeep angrily, only stopping when he got to the car to text Derek.

_The window is open. I’m always here, no matter what she tries to tell you otherwise. -Stiles_

~

Derek shoved another box aside, frowning as he dug around in the bottom of the closet. “Hey Baby?” he called out, pushing another box aside. He grabbed a big box and carried it over to set on the bed, digging through it with increasing anxiety. “BROOKE!” he called again.

“What, what, I’m coming!” Brooke shouted as she came stomping up the stairs. She came into the bedroom, and then made a face. “Derek, what the hell are you doing? Ew, there’s dust everywhere. Gross!”

Derek held up spell books in each hand and frowned. “Where did my books go? I had two boxes of books in here and all that’s here now is these magic books.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well yeah? I needed more room,” she said as she flopped across the bed, stretching so that her dark hair fell fanned out beneath her and her hips showed when she stretched. “Hey, Der, I’m too tired to go out. Will you go get me a milkshake?” she asked and Derek narrowed his eyes but sighed.

“Sure, Baby,” he said mechanically, putting the books down. He went to get his shoes, but then hesitated. He turned back slowly. “Wait, Brooke, where did you put my books?” he asked slowly.

Brooke snorted. “Threw them away, obviously. They took up too much space. I needed it.”

Derek froze, dropping his jacket in shock. “You WHAT?!” he demanded, whipping around. “You did WHAT to my books?!”

She rolled her eyes. “Derek, don’t pitch a fit. I needed space-“

“WE HAVE AN EMPTY ROOM!” Derek shouted as fear filled him.

“I needed the boxes, though-“

“Brooke, what about my mom’s book?” Derek asked frantically. “Where did you put my mom’s book?”

Brooke frowned. “What mom’s book, your mom’s dead,” she said and Derek paled.

“The- the fairy-tale book, the one with the pictures in it.” She didn’t show any recognition and Derek felt his chest tightening. “BROOKE WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY MOM’S BOOK?!” he shouted and she jumped up, glaring.

“DON’T FUCKING YELL AT ME!” She walked around the foot of the bed and glared up at him. “I threw them all out. I needed the fucking boxes. Get over it, Derek. You never looked in those boxes, so why should it matter-“

“Because my book of fairy-tales was the ONLY thing of my mom’s I had left!” he cried, turning to walk over and frantically shove boxes out of the closet. “You can’t- You didn’t throw it away. You wouldn’t do that-“

“Derek, for fucks sake, you’re making a mess-“

“My mom’s book-“

Brooke walked over and shoved the door shut as soon as he backed up far enough that she could. “STOP!” she shouted, crowding him away from the door. “Look, get over it. It’s gone. Sorry I didn’t know what was what, but you never looked at any of those books so look at the bright side.” She smiled and shrugged. “You won’t notice anything’s gone.”

Derek stared down at her, mouth working wordlessly. “Oh my God,” he breathed as the realization that _the only thing he had left of his mother_ was _gone_ sunk in. The room felt like it was spinning, his chest grew so tight. His mind was filled with a rushing sound like wind swirling around inside his skull. All he could think was _it’s gone_ over and over again. 

He didn’t know how long he had stood there staring into the distance blankly, panic taking hold, before Brooke called out from the bed, “So hey, I want a strawberry milkshake this time!” as if nothing had happened. Derek grabbed his jacket and stumbled over a box on his way to the door, ignoring her calling after him as he ran down the stairs and nearly sprinted through the house, out the door, and to his car in a blind rush of adrenaline as he tried not to think about the crushing _loss_ he felt at knowing what was missing.

~

Stiles was washing dishes when a loud knocking started on the door. He frowned and grabbed a towel to dry his hands, rolling his eyes when the banging got louder and faster. “CHILL OUT! THE DOOR CAN’T TAKE MUCH MORE!” he shouted as he started out into the hall. “Alright, alright, keep your shirt on-“ The second he opened the door, he stumbled back under the weight of two-hundred pounds of werewolf clinging to him. “Shit, fuck- Derek?!” He squeaked as he stopped the stumbling and curled his arms around Derek, who was babbling something, face pressed into Stiles’s throat. “Derek, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Shhhh, talk to me,” he said, pulling back. Derek was shaking and his breathing was sharp and erratic. “Derek, please, you’re scaring me-“ Stiles froze when Derek looked up with tears welling in his eyes. “Oh God, Derek,” he breathed, reaching up to hold Derek’s face. “What happened?”

Derek’s jaw worked under his hands and he made a sound painfully close to a whine. “My mom’s book. She- She threw away my mom’s book.”

Stiles’s heart dropped. “She _what_?” he gasped. He saw the pain in Derek’s eyes and he really did understand. 

Derek had found very few things that survived the fire, and one of them was a slightly charred but still intact leather-bound book of Hans Christian Anderson fairy-tales that his mother had had since she was a little girl. Stiles knew from one night when he’d shown up drunk at Derek’s place in a really bad place on the anniversary of his mother’s death the year before. Derek had spent the night telling him about his own mom while Stiles cried and talked in spurts. When he was little, Derek’s mom used to read him fairy-tales before bed. Every night for years his mom read him stories from the same book until he grew out of his mother reading him stories before bed. When Derek found the book intact, he’d also found pictures of them as kids tucked between the pages, as well as one picture of his whole family. 

If Brooke had thrown away the book and pictures, then Derek had lost every photograph of his family that he had.

Derek let his head hang and Stiles swallowed hard at the sight of a tear streaking Derek’s cheek. He swiped the tear away and pulled Derek into a hug, holding him close. “I’m so- so sorry,” he whispered, arms around Derek’s neck. He let go and pulled Derek along until to the stairs. His dad was home so the couch wasn’t the best place to talk. Derek followed Stiles upstairs and they went to his room. Derek walked across and crawled onto Stiles’s bed, curling on his side to face the wall dejectedly. It hurt Stiles so much to see someone so strong so broken.

Stiles crawled onto the bed and moved to slide between Derek and the wall, wrapping his arm around Derek as he faced him. Derek didn’t meet his eyes, staring instead somewhere around Stiles’s chest. Stiles reached out and stroked at his hair, biting back a lump in his own throat. “God, Derek. I know nothing can make you feel better right now, but I promise, I’ll find pictures of your family,” he said, leaning in to kiss his hair. Derek wiggled down and curled his arms around Stiles, laying his head on Stiles’s chest. “I’m sure there are some of your siblings on file at the school. I think there was a family photo in the newspaper once. My dad can find it in old files, I’m sure. I’ll find some one way or another.”

Derek scoffed. “I wouldn’t need it if Brooke wasn’t so fucking selfish,” he whispered hoarsely, surprising Stiles. Derek always defended Brooke. No matter how horrible she was, Derek made excuses for her. It appeared that his mother’s book was his limit. “God, she just- she had a whole empty bedroom for her shit but she needed _boxes_ so she _threw away my books_.” He shook his head, fisting his hand in Stiles’s shirt. “All my text books I’d kept, all my medical journals, things I _needed_. And yeah, mostly my mom’s book is the problem, but still. I needed that other stuff too.” He sighed heavily. “Why do I love her?” he asked tiredly. “She doesn’t like any of my friends. She doesn’t care about what trouble she causes me. She doesn’t even care that she _threw away_ the last thing I had to link me to my mother. My _mother_ had that book. My mom had that book since she was a little girl. That book was worth more to me than most everything in this world because it was _Mom’s_. And Brooke didn’t even think twice about throwing it away. For a _cardboard box_ ,” he grumbled.

Stiles smiled sadly. “Hey, I spent most of my life in love with the one girl who would never even look at me that way. I can’t help you there. At least Brooke cared enough to come to California with you.”

Derek whimpered. “She doesn’t love me, does she, Stiles?” he asked softly. Stiles closed his eyes and exhaled weakly.

“Derek, I’m sure in her own way-“

“She told you that she likes me because I’m attractive and she isn’t stupid enough to ‘kick that out of bed’. I’m pretty fucking well aware of what she likes and it’s not _me_ ,” he growled, the pain heavy in his voice. “So why do I love her? Why- why can’t I hate her?” he asked in a tight voice. “After everything, why do I love her still?”

Stiles stroked at the nape of Derek’s neck tenderly. “Because knowing it’s a bad idea and knowing how much easier life would be if you didn’t love someone… it doesn’t make it go away.” He felt Derek stop breathing and he swallowed hard to keep his heartbeat from going wild. “When you loves somebody, it isn’t about what they deserve, it’s about what your own heart latched onto. She was there when you were lonely and she gave you something to hang onto. She gave you someone to protect and someone to hold when you were afraid of being alone forever. It’s not about what she’s done, it’s about what she gave you when you needed it. You love her for that and no matter what hurt it causes, you don’t want to lose having someone that’s _yours_.”

“Stiles,” Derek breathed, lifting up on his elbow to look down at him. Stiles met his eyes with a sad smile. Derek searched his eyes and Stiles didn’t try to hold back from letting Derek read him completely. It was useless to resist, so Stiles didn’t bother. Derek had always known him better than he should have been able to. Stiles’s eyes fluttered when Derek’s hand slid to cup his cheek. Stiles swallowed hard as Derek leaned closer. Stiles stared into Derek’s eyes until Derek’s breath brushed his lips before he closed his eyes and spoke.

“Don’t,” he whispered, his lips brushing Derek’s, and Derek froze. Derek pulled back some and Stiles slid his hand up Derek’s forearm, pulling Derek’s hand from his face. “You have a girlfriend.”

“She doesn’t love me,” Derek mumbled softly and Stiles smiled weakly, opening his eyes to meet Derek’s.

“But you love _her_ ,” he pointed out gently.

Derek sat up on his elbow again, curling his fingers through Stiles’s beside Stiles. “She’s not the only one, though,” he admitted nervously and Stiles let out a wet laugh, blinking against the burning in his eyes.

“I know,” he said softly. He reached up with his free hand and stroked gently at Derek’s scruffy cheek. “I know, Derek, but that’s exactly why I can’t. I can’t be your revenge. I can’t be your way of getting back at her. And I know you don’t want me to be that, either, Derek.” He saw realization sink in and he nodded sadly. “You respect me too much to let me be nothing more than a way of trying to hurt her.”

Derek let his head drop forward until his forehead rested on Stiles’s shoulder. “You will never be ‘nothing more’ than anything to me, Stiles. Not when you’re pretty much the most important to me,” he admitted and Stiles let out a wet laugh, tears filling his eyes.

“I know,” he admitted, reaching up to cup the back of Derek’s head, holding him there. “I wish I could be everything to you, Derek Hale,” he whispered, blinking as a tear streaked down towards his ear as he looked up at the ceiling. “But for now, all I can be is your friend.”

Derek nodded, tucking his head into Stiles’s neck as he shifted, slinging an arm and leg over Stiles, settling against him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered and Stiles shook his head.

“Don’t ever apologize for giving me someone to take care of and hold when he needs me.” He closed his eyes and rested his chin against Derek’s temple, whispering in his ear, “I might can’t be everything to you, but you are my everything, Derek. I can be happy with things the way they are as long as you’ll let me in when you need me.”

Derek sighed and nodded. “I’ll always need you, Stiles.”

Stiles smiled, swallowing hard. “Then everything will be okay.”

~

John wasn’t stupid. He knew more than good and damn well that his kid was far too involved with a man who had a girlfriend living with him. He was pretty sure Derek and Stiles weren’t crossing the wrong lines, but he also knew that Derek sometimes spent the night in Stiles’s bed instead of on the couch. Nothing _happened_ , he knew that much, but it wasn’t really putting things in the right envelope. He also knew that Stiles took Derek lunch after he dropped lunch off for him. Stiles was practically taking care of Derek just as much as he took care of his own father. John had heard enough from Stiles about how controlling and ‘freaking evil’ Brooke was, but he also knew that Derek Hale was more than capable of making his own choices and that choice was Brooke. 

John questioned that sometimes when he saw the way Derek would look at Stiles, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew from his own youth – no matter how long ago it had been – that love wasn’t always as simple as meeting one person you wanted to be with and everything falling into place. He had been lucky to be at a point in his life that he was ready for it when he met Claudia and fell for her. He had been older than Derek, he’d had his share of girlfriends to work out what he didn’t want, and he’d been lucky enough to meet the perfect woman at the perfect point in his life to start building a life with her. Derek Hale, however, was almost twenty-six and he’d been hurt more in his short life than most people ever would. John had learned from the kids over time that Derek’s first girlfriend had died and it was his fault, his second girlfriend had been a pedophile who used him to destroy everything in his life, he had been too afraid of being hurt again to so much as speak to anybody for years, and then when he did, she had used him to try and kill people, John included. 

John was like he knew Stiles was in that when Derek came back with a beautiful girlfriend in tow the last time he returned to Beacon Hills for good, he was happy to see a kid who had never deserved what happened to him finally have something _good_ in his life. John had watched Stiles and Derek growing closer and he worried some, but neither of them seemed like anything was going to happen so he just sat back with the comforting knowledge that Stiles was a smart kid and he wouldn’t put Derek in the wrong position to end in either of them being hurt. 

John hadn’t really understood anything Stiles said in passing about Brooke mistreating Derek all along. He hadn’t saw her many times, but she always seemed to just be a regular girl. A little overbearing, but for a guy to be attracted to confident women who knew what they wanted after having female alphas wasn’t at all surprising. He heard a few of the others mention that she was a little rude, but to be fair, most people were at some point or another. She hadn’t made friends with them but she was a magical human who hadn’t gone through all they had together, so it wasn’t hard to imagine the difficulties she would have getting close to the kids. She and Derek fought a lot, but John figured Derek walking out and coming to their place was a smart thing for him to do. He was a werewolf and she was a human and if he got aggressive, he could accidently hurt her without meaning to, and John really didn’t want Derek to become that kind of a boyfriend. He liked the kid. He didn’t want to see him go down that route.

Which was why, when he came out of the coffee shop with the orders for everybody at the office and saw Derek and Brooke in the parking lot next to Derek’s car in a heated argument, he grew tense. He couldn’t hear what they were saying to each other, but when Brooke stepped up into Derek’s space, backing him into the car, he saw the way Derek tensed, hands fisted at his side, and he started to go over just in case he needed to intervene. Derek was six foot of muscle-bound werewolf and Brooke was about five foot nothing of skinny little human and John didn’t doubt that if Derek so much as shoved her away from him she would fly through the air, she was so slight. John put down his tray of coffees and the bag of pastries on the hood of his truck and started to head over, only to stop in his tracks about twenty feet away when he heard an angry snarl of, “You’re _MINE_ and I’ll be DAMNED if I let anybody else even THINK about it.”

It was a shock that the words came from _Brooke_. However, nothing was more shocking than when John watched, with his own two eyes, as she grew back and _hit Derek across the face_. John cursed under his breath and started towards them again, just knowing that Derek was about to get himself fin trouble, only to slow down when he saw that, instead of reacting, Derek sank in on himself. John felt a fearful understanding crawling up his spine as he watched the way Derek suddenly looked so much smaller with his head down, his shoulders hunched, and a vulnerable look of betrayal in the eyes he had trained on the ground.

“I-I’m sorry,” Derek mumbled in an absolutely frightened tone that chilled John. “I’m sorry, Brooke.”

“You damn well better be.” John heard the acrid, spiteful words coming out of that girl’s mouth and he didn’t hesitate to continue on his path.

“Hey!” he called as he approached. “What’s going on over here?” he called and Brooke looked up suddenly, giving him an innocent smile.

“Nothing, Sheriff. Just a little argument,” she said, and then elbowed Derek - _hard_ , if his wince said anything – so that he nodded.

“Don’t worry, we’re going home,” Derek said with a forced smile.

Derek couldn’t lie for shit, but John gave them a smile and nodded. “Alright. I just heard raised voices and figured I should see what’s up. Should’ve come around the car and saw who it was then I wouldn’t have needed to worry,” he lied and Derek looked painfully relieved at the knowledge John hadn’t seen anything and John knew good and damn well that if Derek was really okay, he would’ve heard the lie in John’s heartbeat, so he didn’t say anything.

Turning around and just leaving after what he had been forced to realize was hard, but John knew that there wasn’t anything he could do. Times when all that could be done was give up and walk away were always the worst part of John’s job, but sometimes it did happen. 

It never sucked less than it did when it was personal, though.

~

Stiles took a bite of his pasta only to choke on it when John far-too-casually asked, “So, have you ever heard Derek mention Brooke… hurting him?”

“What?! Dad!” Stiles squawked as he choked. “Oh my God,” he groaned as he drank some water to stop his coughing. “Where the hell did that come from?”

John shrugged. “You two are close. I figured if there was anything… going on.” He looked up. “You’d know about it.”

Stiles sighed, looking sad as he glanced down at his plate. “I haven’t really talked to him in a while. I still take him lunch and stuff, but he’s working a lot more the past few weeks. After what happened with the book-“ Stiles stopped himself and cringed. “Well, let’s just say Brooke might have hurt him really badly. But I’m pretty sure not the way you mean,” he said, looking up. “What’s up?” he asked suspiciously. 

John stilled when he heard Stiles mention not talking to Derek more than in passing for weeks now. “You guys haven’t hung out?” he asked slowly. Stiles shook his head and John frowned. “Stiles, you didn’t think that was weird? He had got where he was spending more nights with you than with his girlfriend,” he said and Stiles froze, looking up with flushed cheeks. John rolled his eyes. “I know you’re not sleeping with him, don’t look at me that way.”

Stiles made a squeaking sound. “Dad!” He groaned. “Oh my God, why would you even think that?!”

John snorted. “Stiles, I’m not stupid, blind, or too old to notice what _bringing him lunch_ and _sleeping in his arms_ might mean,” he pointed out. Stiles flushed and John chuckled. “Stiles, he climbs in your window and sleeps in your bed with you. I know you. I know you wouldn’t be his ‘something on the side’, so I know you’re not sleeping with him. But I also see the way you look at him,” he said gently. 

Stiles sighed, pushing his plate away to put his head in his hands. “He’s my best friend in the whole world.”

“And you’re in love with him,” John nudged along. “It’s okay, I know that, Stiles.” Stiles looked up and bit his lip before speaking.

“He’s in love with me, too,” Stiles whispered and John’s mouth tightened, but he nodded.

“I had some idea,” he admitted and Stiles nodded uncomfortably. “Why, though?” John asked gently. “Why, if he has feelings for you and you treat him the way you do, is he still with her?”

Stiles gave him a confused look. “What do you know about ‘how she treats him’? Yeah, they argue a lot, but as far as you know – or at least the way you’ve said it before – it’s just ‘his type’?”

John bit his lip and cringed slightly. “I’m getting an idea that maybe she’s not the nicest person.”

Stiles scoffed. “No shit. I didn’t tell you, and I almost let it slip, but the reason I wanted those pictures you got me of Derek’s family?” he started and John waited. “He had some photos stuck in a book of fairy-tales that his mother had since she was a little girl. She read to him when he was little every night. That book and those pictures in it were about the only thing to survive the fire.” Stiles growled, eyes going dark. “She fucking _threw it away_ because she wanted to use the box he kept his books in. She threw away his textbooks and medical journals and in there with it was Talia Hale’s book of Hans Christian Anderson fairy-tales that had survived two generations and a fucking _fire_ and she just tossed it out.” John balked and Stiles mumbled curses under his breath. “Derek showed up _crying_ , Dad. He _cried_ because it was the only thing he had left of his mother’s and those were the only photographs of his family. I did the best I could with old yearbook photos and newspaper clippings, but nothing will ever replace photos of them growing up.”

John shook his head, running his hands over his face, palms pressing into his eyes. “I’m afraid it’s worse,” he muttered and Stiles looked up sharply. John let his hands fall and looked up with guilt written into every line of his face. “Today, I heard people arguing in the parking lot at the coffee shop. I went to see and it was Brooke and Derek. The way she was getting up in his space and backing him into a corner, I saw how tense he was getting, and I figured I better stop him from making a mistake that he’d never live down and hurting her-“

“Derek would _never_ hit her-“

“I know,” John interrupted Stiles’s tirade. “I know because before I could get there, she hit _him_ ,” he admitted and Stiles’s sharp intake of breath made him look up. Stiles’s heart was pounding and his mind was reeling. “She hit him in the face and he just-“ John shook his head, looking older and more weary than usual. “He cowered. Derek Hale, two hundred pounds of werewolf, cowering from someone who is about a hundred pounds soaking wet is a sight I’ll never forget. He looked scared and ashamed. And when I walked over, she gave me this big, innocent smile and Derek looked so scared I’d seen it. I pretended I didn’t and left and when I glanced back, he looked so relieved-“

“You just walked away?!” Stiles demanded angrily. “You’re the _Sheriff_ and you walked away from- from- shit, that’s _domestic abuse_!” he gritted out.

John rubbed at his temples. “Stiles, I didn’t want to. I hate it just as much as you could possibly imagine, but the fact of it is that no judge in this county and probably this whole state would ever even accept charges of domestic violence against a woman like Brooke with the alleged victim being someone like Derek Hale. He’s twice her size and has a record.”

“HE’S A PEDIATRIC NURSE WHO WOULDN’T HURT A FLY!” Stiles cried and John held up a hand to calm him.

“I know that, but it’s just the truth, Stiles.” He shook his head. “Male victims don’t see justice unless their abuser is a bigger man than they are. Nobody would buy his story over hers if I did arrest her.”

“Even with you as a witness?” Stiles asked helplessly and John shrugged.

“All she has to do is claim she was defending herself and suddenly she’s the victim and Derek will go to jail instead,” he said and Stiles bit his bottom lip so hard he broke skin. “Stiles, I’m sorry. I wanted to step in, but if I couldn’t do anything, the least I could do is not embarrass Derek-“

“He has NO reason to be embarrassed!” Stiles argued. “God, that’s what’s wrong with that whole freaking situation! She _hit him_! If he hit her, nobody would worry about embarrassing her before stepping in, but because she’s the one that hit him he should be embarrassed?! Even if Derek wasn’t supernaturally enhanced, he could shove her and she’d fly across a room, the fact he wouldn’t defend himself is because he loves her and doesn’t want to hurt people!”

John nodded. “I know that, Stiles, but there is nothing I could do then and there’s nothing I can do now. I just wanted to know if you knew about it. If this was a onetime thing or if it was something that’s been going on-“

“It’s only going to be a onetime thing,” Stiles said, standing up suddenly. “Fuck that, that bitch is not going to hurt him. She knows werewolves, she knows magic, and I’ll be damned if she does something to him. Not on my watch-“

John jumped up and followed Stiles. “Stiles, where are you going?! You can’t seriously go confront her-“

“WATCH ME!” he called down the stairs. John followed him and found Stiles fighting with his inside out hoodie. 

“Stiles, you can’t do anything about it!” he argued. “If you go over there and do anything to her, you’ll get arrested for assault!”

Stiles turned back around, eyes cold and angry. “I am _not_ sitting here when I know nearly as much magic as she does and I know how much _I_ could hurt a beta. I’m not risking it. She is _not_ going to hurt him again, I don’t care what I have to do.”

“Stiles, don’t hurt her-“

“I won’t do a damn thing to her if she doesn’t make me defend myself or defend Derek,” Stiles comforted. “But she hit him, Dad. She hit _Derek_. I would be this pissed if it was any of my friends, but you know he’s different so I’m _not_ waiting to see if she hurts him worse,” he positively growled. “I haven’t talked to him more than casual ‘hey, how’s it going’ in a couple weeks, so God knows what she’s done to him!”

John shook his head and gave in, knowing better than to fight it. “What happened to letting Derek make his own choices?”

Stiles turned around, shoving his phone in his pocket. “I’m not making him pick between me and her, I’m just making sure she never hurts him ever again,” he said firmly, stopping to hug his dad before he left.

John just held Stiles for a moment and nodded. “Don’t do anything stupid, Stiles. Please just be rational.”

“I always am, Dad,” Stiles joked tightly, smiling sadly when he pulled away and turned to leave.

~

When Derek was the one to answer the door, Stiles was so relieved he threw his arms around Derek’s neck and hugged him. “Thank God,” he groaned, pressing his face into Derek’s neck.

Derek caught him around the middle, awkwardly rubbing at his back. “Um, you okay?”

Stiles pulled back and nodded, smiling. “Yeah, just… glad to see you,” he said as he edged past Derek and started through the house. “Just lookin’ for Brooke is all,” he said and Derek immediately shut the door and followed him.

“Brooke? Why do you need Brooke?” Derek asked, but Stiles had already spotted her on the couch. 

“Derek, who was- Stiles?!” Brooke sat up, frowning. “What the hell is _he_ doing here? I thought I told you he wasn’t allowed here anymore,” she said and Stiles raised an eyebrow at Derek, who let his head hang. 

“I didn’t invite him over. Sorry,” Derek muttered and Stiles turned back to Brooke, eyes full of fire. She seemed to notice and she stood up, rolling her eyes. 

“Oh fine, come yell at me and then fuck off. Derek’s not finished before he gets to go to bed,” she said and Stiles barely held back on audibly cursing at her as he followed her into the laundry room, since the sound of the dryer might actually cover their conversation. Clearly she didn’t want Derek to hear Stiles. “Now what?” she asked, turning to face him.

Stiles grinded his teeth before shaking out his hands to keep from grabbing her by the throat and squeezing the life out of her. “We need to have a little chat. About what happens to people who _hit_ my pack mates.”

She huffed. “Oh God, I thought Barney Fife had missed that much-“

“HEY! SHUT UP ABOUT MY DAD, BITCH!” Stiles snapped. “Oh my GOD do you know how hard I’m fighting my instinct to grab you and shake you like a fucking rag doll?!” he snarled. “Whatever, the point is _you physically hit Derek in the face_ and I want to know what the hell else you’ve done to him!” he demanded. “I was worried when he didn’t come see me after the last time, and okay yeah I worried maybe it was me, but you told him I wasn’t allowed over?! To HIS house?!” He narrowed his eyes. “What have you done to him?”

“Nothing that will leave marks, he’s a werewolf-“

“SHUT UP AND TELL ME!” Stiles shouted just as the dryer buzzed and the cycle ended.

“Stiles?!” They both grew still when Derek shouted. “Brooke? Stiles? What was that shouting?” Derek opened the door and came in, then paled when he saw them at each other’s faces. “Shit, don’t argue, guys-“

“Derek, get him out of my house-“

“IT’S HIS HOUSE, NOT YOURS!” Stiles roared, then turned away, walking to Derek. “Derek,” he said gently, reaching up to cup his face in his hands, turning to look for marks even if he knew there were none. “Tell me what she’s done to you.”

Derek looked away, pulling out of Stiles’s hold. “Nothing, Stiles.”

“My dad saw her _hit you_!” Stiles whispered in a pained voice. “Tell me if she hurt you-“

Derek shook his head. “I just made her angry. I shouldn’t have done that-“

“No,” Stiles said firmly. “Nobody deserves to be _hit_ by their girlfriend, Derek.”

“He’s a werewolf, it heals!” Brooke argued. “He was whining about wanting to call you, if you have to know, so really it’s your fault-“

Derek’s head shot up. “Don’t blame Stiles for that-“

“Oh, you’ll speak up for him but you won’t get over it and just do what I tell you do?!” Brooke argued.

“I know he’ll blame himself for me getting hurt if you say that, Brooke,” Derek said in a small voice that _broke Stiles’s heart_.

He turned back to Brooke and stalked over to her. “What have you done to him?” he demanded in a cold tone. “What did you do to _break_ him like this?! I know you hit him so what else have you done to make him so freaking complacent?”

Brooke smirked. “Just pointed out that if I’m the only person who would put up with his ‘boohoo my family died cause I was too much of a slut to care who I slept with’ shit for this long. If I go, who will he have? His sister doesn’t even want him and she doesn’t have any other family because his psychotic uncle. Nobody in his pack cares if he lives or dies. You’re the only one who even bothers checking on him when there isn’t official pack business and you’re just as pathetic as he is.”

Stiles’s palms stung from how hard he was clenching his fists. “His sister has her own needs but I’m pretty damn sure if she knew how you treated her brother she’d be on a plane here to kick your ass because she loves him. His pack loves him. We ALL care if he lives or dies and we always have. That’s not true, the others check on him all the time. The only person who obviously doesn’t give two shits about him around here is _you_ ,” he hissed. 

She smirked. “You’re just jealous because he still doesn’t want you. I can punch him in the fucking face and he still chooses me.”

“He is free to choose whoever the hell he wants!” Stiles argued. “I don’t _care_ about that! What I care about is if he’s safe in his own fucking home! You’re abusive! You hurt him more ways than just by punching him in the face and that’s not okay!” Stiles shook his head. “I don’t _want_ him to pick me, Brooke, I want him to pick _himself_! I want him to pick his own safety over _you_!”

Brooke just smirked. “Like he’s gonna do that. He hates himself more than I hate you, and that’s saying something. Derek will never grow a backbone and pick himself.”

“Yes I am,” Derek said softly and Stiles turned back in surprise, actually shocked Derek spoke up. Derek was looking down at the floor, hands fisted at his side. He looked up nervously and met Stiles’s eyes before looking at Brooke. “I’m done with this,” he said in a tight voice. “I’m- I’m through, Brooke. Hitting me just- it made me realize you’re only ever going to get worse, not better,” he said weakly. “Maybe it is time I just accept that and stop clinging to the hope that one day you’ll actually give a damn about me.”

Brooke gaped. She looked like someone had slapped her just like Stiles really wanted to. “Excuse me?!”

“You heard me,” Derek said more firmly, his confidence obviously growing. “I’m done with this. I’m done with you putting me down and bossing me around. I’m done with you making me feel like the biggest loser in the world for giving in to your every whim. I’m sick of you pushing my friends away and- and keeping me down when I am worth more than that,” he said and Stiles could see that every word was breathing life back into his empty eyes. Stiles edged closer and slid his hand into Derek’s, smiling at him with pride filling him as Derek kept his eyes on Brooke and kept talking. “I’ve lived my whole adult life feeling worthless no matter how much of a difference I make now, and I don’t want it anymore,” Derek admitted. “Stiles is right. I won’t be alone without you, and I won’t ever be able to believe that if I don’t take the chance.”

Brooke glowered as she looked between the two of them. “You’re picking him over me?” she spat and Derek shook his head, biting his lip as he smiled slowly.

“No. I’m honestly not.” He took a breath and met her eyes without any hesitation. “I’m picking _me_.” He nodded towards the door. “Get a bag and get out of my house. I’ll send your crap back to your pack. You can get it from them,” he said and she just stared.

“You want me to go _now_?! You’re KICKING ME OUT?!”

“Yeah, I am,” Derek said with a smile. “Doesn’t feel good does it?” he asked and she let out a scream of rage before she shoved past him, slamming every door in the house on her way upstairs.

“YOU WILL FUCKING REGRET GIVING ME UP, HALE! NOBODY WILL EVER GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOU!” she shouted, her voice echoing through the house.

She kept her complaining up until she’d got dressed and packed a bag. On her way out the door, Derek caught her jacket and reached into her pocket to get her phone, pulling it out. “I bought that,” he said and she glowered before turning and stalking out.

Stiles smirked and waved at her as she passed. “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!” he called cheerfully and she flipped him off as she stalked out, leaving the door standing open behind her as a last defiant act. Stiles stood in the doorway and watched her walk down to the cab Derek had called to take her to the airport while she packed and he sighed with relief when she was gone. He went back to the living room to where Derek was sitting on the couch looking around almost nervously. “She’s gone,” he said softly, and Derek nodded, biting at his nails as he leaned on his elbows. Stiles walked over and sat beside him, reaching out to shove at his shoulder companionably. “You gonna be okay?” he asked gently and Derek hesitated, before nodding.

“Yeah, I think I really am,” he said, and Stiles smiled and nodded.

“I’m glad.” Stiles stood up and grabbed his jacket off the arm of the couch, shrugging it on. “I’m going home. I think you need some time to process,” he said and Derek nodded absently, still staring ahead. “Call me if you need to talk,” Stiles said in parting. 

He got to the front hall before Derek called his name. “Stiles.” Stiles leaned back so he could see into the living room and Derek gave him a small, secretive smile. “Thank you.”

Stiles made a face and shook his head. “This was all on you, Buddy. You took back your life without my help. I just happened to be here when you did it,” he said, leaning against the doorway with a sweet smile. “I’m proud of you,” he said soft and Derek’s smile finally met his eyes for the first time in what felt like months.

“I did, huh?” he asked, and Stiles nodded. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” Derek promised and Stiles nodded, throwing up a hand.

“Goodnight, Derek.”

“Night, Stiles,” Derek called and Stiles smiled as he walked out of the house that was now free of the poisonous energy that had permeated it for over a year and a half. 

~

Stiles was walking back from taking Derek’s lunch to the nurses’ station when he passed the windows to the pediatric ward’s playroom only to stop and backtrack when he spotted a familiar head of dark hair wearing what appeared to be a construction paper crown. He couldn’t stop the way his heart stuttered over the sight of Derek sitting in a tiny little kids chair at a table coloring with a group of little kids in various colored crowns. Derek seemed to be listening attentively to the little girl beside him. Stiles couldn’t see what she was saying because of the germ mask she was wearing that covered her mouth, but the dramatic motions of her hands said it was a big, grand story she was telling. 

When one of the boys said something, Derek turned and looked at Stiles in the window. Stiles smirked and waved and Derek blushed, but rolled his eyes and nodded to the door. Stiles walked in and dutifully used the hand sanitizer near the door before walking any closer to the kids. “Hey guys,” Stiles said, waving as he came to a stop beside Derek and knelt down, snickering when the tiny chair Derek was sitting in barely left him taller than Stiles on his knees. 

“Yeah, he can be the princess, Derek!” the little girl with the mask said enthusiastically. “I said we needed a princess!” she said to the girl across the table.

Stiles gasped and batted his eyelashes. “Awww, am I pretty enough?” he asked and she giggled.

“Yeah! We gotta give him a crown, though!” she said, and one of the boys nodded very seriously then started coloring on a blue piece of construction paper. 

“Well now, I’m being crowned princess and I just arrived, I am good,” Stiles joked as he smiled up at Derek.

Derek rolled his eyes. “Amy’s mother didn’t want to play our princess and Matilda says she’s too old to sit at this little table,” he said and Stiles smiled and waved at Matilda, one of Derek’s coworkers and the woman she was talking to who he figured was Amy’s mother.

“Here Derek!” one of the little boys said, shoving two drawings of crowns on blue paper at him. Derek thanked him and obediently picked up the scissors to cut them out. Stiles got caught up in a discussion of Spiderman with Benny, the boy beside him, when Benny saw his shirt, so he was surprised when suddenly something was deposited on his head. 

“Oh hey!” Stiles felt and realized he was now wearing the blue crown. He smiled and turned back. “Alright, Amy, now you have your princess,” he said, folding his hands together under his chin with a cheesy smile. 

She smiled and clapped. “Yay! Now the prince and princess can get married!” she said and all the kids cheered. Stiles glanced at Derek, who just rolled his eyes, but smiled at the kids excitement.

“Well now, Fair Prince, it appears we’re betrothed!” he said in a playfully high pitched voice. 

“Nooo boys can be princesses too!” Benny said. “Don’t gotta talk like a girl!” he said and Stiles snickered in amusement but pretended to zip his lips and throw away the key when Derek gave him a warning look.

“Alright then,” he said patting Derek on the shoulder with a smile. “How’s it going, Prince Husband?” he joked and the kids all laughed at him.

Derek gave a longsuffering sigh. “You know how it goes. Making crowns. Telling stories. Crowning princesses,” he said, and Stiles jumped slightly.

“Oh crap- I mean darn,” he corrected when Amy’s mom glared at him. “I forgot!” He grabbed his bag from where he’d sat it behind him and dug around before coming back with a purple, hardcover book. “I got this for you,” he said, turning to hand it to Derek. “I found it at the bookstore on campus and figured you might like it,” he said and Derek took the book with an almost reverent look. Stiles bit his lip and hoped Derek wasn’t going to get upset. “I know nothing will ever replace your copy of Hans Christian Anderson fairy-tales, but… well the stories are the same so at least you have something to keep the memories fresh… yeah, this was probably a bad idea, I’m sorry, I just-“ He sighed and let his glance fall. “I just wanted to do what I could to make it better,” he admitted in a whisper.

“Stiles… thank you,” Derek said in a warm, soft tone. Stiles looked up and Derek was smiling at him with such a warm twinkle in his eyes that Stiles’s heart skipped a beat. “I didn’t even think about getting another… but you’re right. The stories are the same. I can still remember it at least,” he said, stroking the book’s cover. “It’s amazing. _You_ are amazing,” he said with a soft huff as he took Stiles’s hand in his without looking up from the book.

Stiles shrugged with a sideways grin. “Only the best for the Prince, right?”

“Seriously, where did you even come from? People generally aren’t able to be this caring, Stiles,” Derek joked, looking up to meet his eyes. 

Stiles shrugged. “Got crowned a princess, that takes some serious charm school work. Picked up some pointers,” he said, leaning his elbow on the table so he could look at Derek better when he rolled his eyes with a look of fond exasperation on his face. 

“Prince Derek, you’re doing it wrong! You don’t get married by giving somebody a book!” Amy argued and Derek gave her a small smile.

“You don’t, huh?” he asked, and Amy huffed.

“No! You gotta kiss him!” she said, and Lucy added a soft, “duh,” to Amy’s instructions.

Derek had spots of pink on his cheeks when he and Stiles glanced at each other, and Stiles shrugged. “Gotta marry me right, dude, otherwise the evil suitor wins my hand and true love loses. Don’t you know how this works?” he joked, though his tone belied his nervousness.

Derek hummed. “Well, can’t have that now, can we?” he said theatrically for the kids, before meeting Stiles’s eyes. “Princess?” he asked almost nervously. Stiles smiled and squeezed Derek’s hand, reaching up to curl a hand around Derek’s shoulder so he could stretch up to meet him when Derek leaned down to kiss him. 

It was just a chaste kiss to appease the kids, an innocent press of lips that lasted only a few seconds, but Stiles’s heart went absolutely _haywire_ at the feeling of Derek’s lips against his. When they pulled apart, Stiles felt Derek’s unsteady breaths against his lips and he opened his eyes to see a terrifying mixture of hope and fear and something else that Stiles was pretty sure he didn’t want to put a name too in those beautiful, kaleidoscopic eyes. “Derek?” he whispered, surprised at the rush of emotions that had overcome him suddenly.

Derek glanced down at his lips again and then back to his eyes. “Would it freak you out too much if I admitted that I want to kiss you again but for real this time?”

Stiles smiled weakly and shook his head gently. “No. Would it freak you out if I admitted that I’ve wanted to kiss you since I was seventeen?” he asked and Derek shook his head, letting their foreheads rest together.

“What if I told you I want to do it every day for the rest of my life?” Derek whispered and Stiles swallowed hard and closed his eyes.

“I can’t give you children, Derek,” he reminded him in an almost pained tone.

“We can adopt kids, Stiles,” Derek pointed out and Stiles opened his eyes in surprise. Derek smiled warmly and reached up to cup his cheek. “Nobody will ever love me the way you do.” He looked from Stiles’s lips to his eyes. “And I’ve wanted to tell you how much I love you for over a year now.”

Stiles’s smile had to be blinding, he knew it, because it hurt his face he was smiling so hard. “God, me too,” he said, chuckling as he gave in and tipped his chin up to kiss Derek again, keeping it chaste still for the kids, even though it lingered a little longer. 

“And now you’re married!” Amy announced loudly and Stiles pulled away from Derek, who shared his laughs as they turned back to the kids, who all were clapping for their ‘Prince and Princess’ and cheering for their ‘marriage’.

Stiles sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes before laying his head on Derek’s shoulder. “Alright, alright, but no heirs until the princess at least gets finished with college,” he joked, though he glanced up and met Derek’s eyes. Derek just gave him the most excited smile Stiles had ever seen on his face and nodded minutely before turning back to table. Stiles bit back a smile at the similar excitement swirling around in his belly and sat up, turning to help Benny draw Spider man on the red paper he’d picked out. Every time Stiles glanced up and met Derek’s eyes, the look on Derek’s face was the so content and carefree that Stiles made a vow to himself to make sure Derek never went back to closed off and afraid. 

Happiness suited Derek far better.


End file.
